Normally, just a tuft of island is visible here on Wixom Lake along Dundas Road. With the lake level about three feet down -- as is usual in winter, according to the company that operates the dam forming the impoundment -- far more of the lake bottom is 'high and dry.' In the background is an ice fisherman trying his luck on this year's thin ice. (Photo: Steve Griffin | For The Daily News)
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Normally, just a tuft of island is visible here on Wixom Lake along Dundas Road. With the lake level about three feet down -- as is usual in winter, according to the company that operates the dam ... more

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This is what the Sanford Dam looked like on Sept. 13, 1986, two days after a massive rainfall caught the area by surprise. City officials said flood damage downstream in Midland might have been less if Wolverine Power Co., operator of the dam at the time, had exercised more control of spill rates. (Daily News file) less

This is what the Sanford Dam looked like on Sept. 13, 1986, two days after a massive rainfall caught the area by surprise. City officials said flood damage downstream in Midland might have been less if ... more

Four hydroelectric dams along the Tittabawasee River owned by Boyce Hydro Power have been a serious concern for owners of lakefront property on Sanford, Secord, Smallwood and Wixom lakes.

Now the issue has risen to another level as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has initiated a process to revoke Boyce Hydro Power's license to operate the Edenville Dam.

"What we're trying to do is be proactive, to get ahead of the game," said David Kepler, Sanford Lake Preservation Association president. "The snare we are trying to avoid is for FERC to take that license away and have no control."

The consequences of that action would leave the dam without state requirement or governmental structure to maintain lake levels.

"The federal government has lake levels established there, the state does not," Kepler said. "When the federal license is removed this goes to the oversight of DNR and DEQ, and there is no lake level established."

However, the National Resources Environmental Protection Act allows for a lake level to be established, the formation of an assessment district and the development of an authority to manage the dams.

At Tuesday's Midland County Board meeting, commissioners took the first step toward that authority and unanimously approved a resolution to formulate the Four Lakes Task Force.

"This significantly helps with FERC. It tells them that the county wants a lake level and has assigned a task force to structure it," Kepler said. "I think it is very important for the county to say, 'We recognize that we have to change the business model here. We want to have public engagement as to how this dam is going to be operated.'"

Edenville Dam supplies half the revenue of electrical generation from the four dams while Sanford Dam generates about a quarter.

"The general revenue for those dams, at the low point is $1.8 million and at the high point, maybe $2.2 million. The operating costs are about $1 million per year," Kepler said.

The SLPA has appraised that the Sanford Dam generates about $4 million of economic value for Midland County and provides a tax value to Midland County of $1.7 million.

"It benefits the county to make sure those property's values stay there," Kepler said.

However, to maintain lake levels, an investment of between $4 million and $15 million would be required, which would require an assessment for lakefront property owners.

That dollar amount would depend on whether, or not, the electrical generation would continue.

"Our goal would be to continue to have electrical generation so that there isn't an assessment, but that would require that the electricity pay for the funding," Kepler said. "We would certainly look at grants and other sources of funding."

An investment of that magnitude would help solve most of the other repair problems for the dams.

"The repairs have not occurred over time and the federal government has lost patience over that," e said.

He said now is the time for the task force to act.

"Long-term, the license of these dams expires in 2028 and it takes about five to seven years to submit a renewal. So, if we don't have a plan in the next year or two, that will be a challenge," Kepler said.